Marching For Change: A Parkland Teen Goes To DC

Fifteen-year-old Gabe Glassman is a sophomore at Majory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, a place now best known for the mass shooting earlier this year, and the resulting gun control activism of teens there. Earlier this week, though, he is headed to DC for #MarchForOurLives, joining as many as half a million protesters from around the country.

“This is my life now. If I’m not at home, helping my mom manage supplies, I’m in grief counseling, speaking at a rally or visiting memorials in the park. Then I go on social media to check my posts about gun control. My mom checks on me a lot.”

Gabe and his mom, Lisa Glassman, traveled together to DC for #MarchForOurLives. He says things are getting back to normal – sort of. Gabe is going to classes, and finishing a quarter that ends this week. He also contributed to the charity single Shine with his classmates in the Stoneman Douglas drama club. And he’s getting ready to march.

Gabe knows the spotlight will leave Parkland at some point, but he hopes to move the spotlight to other locations and keep the conversation going…

“As we are getting back to school, we continue to see change. All of us are very excited for the march this Saturday. (My first protest!) The students of MSD and the citizens of the U.S. want a change. Not only will the world be watching us, but they will be marching with us in unison. The time for change is now.”

Gabe and his mom, Lisa Glassman, talked to NPR’s All Things Considered [full audio above] about what their life is like now, and what they expect from the marches this weekend.